Seems that the first class cabin is blocked on the inaugural flight Athens – Newark and on the second return flight. All the other cabins are wide open as one would expect from a service that was just announced.

EK209 leaves from Athens at 4:40PM and Arrives to Newark at 10PM on the same day. The EK210 leaves Newark at 11:45PM arriving to Athens at 3:05PM on the following day.

Flight Distance:

Here’s the Emirates press release:

New route brings year-round flight services between the USA and Greece

Dubai, UAE, 23rd January 2017 – Emirates today announced it will launch a new daily service from Dubai to Newark Liberty International Airport, via the Greek capital city of Athens, starting on 12 March 2017.

The new route complements Emirates’ existing four daily flights between Dubai and New York’s JFK airport, by offering global travellers with another convenient access point to the popular New York Metropolitan area.

Emirates’ new Dubai-Athens-Newark flight will also provide a year-round non-stop daily service between the United States and Greece – a service that does not exist today and has not existed since 2012. The airline will operate a wide-body Boeing 777-300ER powered by General Electric GE90 engines on the route, offering 8 seats in First, 42 seats in Business and 304 seats in Economy class, as well as 19 tonnes of belly-hold cargo capacity.

Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline said: “The Greek Government and Athens International Airport approached Emirates some time ago to consider serving the route between Athens and New York. After careful review, Emirates concluded that extending one of our Dubai-Athens flights to Newark would be commercially and operationally feasible. We are pleased to be able to help meet a strong consumer need long neglected by other airlines, and we would like to thank the authorities and our partners in both the US and Greece for their support of the new route.”

Sir Tim added: “The availability of high quality, daily international air services is essential for the development of business and cultural ties. Trade, especially in high-value and time-sensitive products, will be facilitated by the ample cargo capacity on Emirates’ Boeing 777 aircraft. We also expect tourism to receive a major boost from the availability of daily flights year-round.”

Elena Kountoura, Minister of Tourism of the Hellenic Republic said: “Within the framework of our excellent cooperation, and in line with our common goal for the growth of tourism between our two countries as well as the expansion to long-haul markets, I would like to thank Emirates for having positively considered our request to launch a new Emirates itinerary connecting Dubai with New York via Athens all year round. This strategic choice substantially supports our efforts at the Ministry of Tourism to enhance the already increasing flow of visitors to Greece from the United States and the UAE on a yearly basis, travelling either for leisure or business purposes.”

Endy Zemenides, Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council said: “The Greek-American community has long been anticipating the reestablishment of year round direct travel between Greece and the United States. For this moment to arrive thanks to Emirates – the world’s top airline – is special indeed. Greece’s economic comeback is going to have to include year round tourism and easier business travel. The new Emirates route makes this possible. The Greek-American community will be thrilled with this new itinerary, and we thank Emirates Airline for establishing its route and for its endorsement of travel to Greece.”

The United States and Greece have long maintained close economic relations as well as a strong national security alliance. For decades, the United States has advocated policies that promote and foster economic growth and further opportunities for U.S. investment in Greece. The United States is also home to the largest overseas Greek community in the world, numbering approximately 1.3 million, and the New York City metropolitan area has the largest community of Greek Americans in the country.

In addition to serving the large Greek-American population in the New York City metropolitan area, the availability of one-stop same-plane service to Dubai will offer a convenient alternative to travellers headed towards the Middle East, West Asia, and Africa.

Conclusion

Didn’t come to my mind that Greece and United States would not have year-round service. Seems that Emirates came to rescue.

Surely the US airlines will again make some noise about this fifth freedom flight of which they are not fond of (they made a lot about the Milan – New York service).

Emirates has quite a few fifth freedom routes within Asia such as Bangkok – Hong Kong, Bangkok – Sydney, and various services between Australia and New Zealand. Then there is the flight between Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires.